Texas toddler tells cop, 'I'm hungry, I need a beer,' placed with CPS

Shauna Lee Bennett was arrested and taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of child neglect and nonsupport.

Shauna Lee Bennett was arrested and taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of child neglect and nonsupport.

Photo: Lubbock County Detention Center

Photo: Lubbock County Detention Center

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Shauna Lee Bennett was arrested and taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of child neglect and nonsupport.

Shauna Lee Bennett was arrested and taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of child neglect and nonsupport.

Photo: Lubbock County Detention Center

Texas toddler tells cop, 'I'm hungry, I need a beer,' placed with CPS

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In a sad reflection of the toll poverty often can take on children and families, a Lubbock 3-year-old has been removed from her home after telling police, "I need a beer."

An officer who was dispatched about 6 p.m. Saturday to a Lubbock apartment complex found the little girl barefoot and "extremely dirty" in the courtyard with the complex manager. According to the officer's report, the child had red bumps all over her body and it was obvious she had not been bathed for "an extended period of time."

Her mother, Shauna Lee Bennett, 42, was found "passed out" on the top bunk of a bunk bed in her apartment, according to the police report. It took the officer several tries to awaken Bennett, who appeared to have no idea where her daughter was.

The officer, stating she was overwhelmed by the filthy apartment, described dirty clothes, dishes and trash scattered about and cockroaches "absolutely everywhere."

When the officer asked Bennett when her daughter had last eaten, the mother replied, "She had some ravioli earlier." Bennett couldn't tell the officer what time the girl had eaten the ravioli and claimed the child had slept until noon, skipping breakfast.

A neighbor said he watched the girl for up to 10 hours a day about four times a week while Bennett was at work but that he did not feed her.

Based upon the mother's evasive answers, the officer concluded there was "probable cause to believe (the girl) had not been fed, washed or provided with any type of general medical care or treatment for an unsafe amount of time."

While waiting for Child Protective Service to arrive, the officer played with the little girl for more than an hour, during which time the child said, "I'm hungry" multiple times and also stated, "I need a beer."

After searching the entire apartment, the officer found the barefoot child a pair of boots that were covered in dirt and cobwebs, according to the police report.

Bennett was arrested and taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of child neglect and nonsupport. Online records indicate she was released Monday. No information was immediately available Tuesday on the girl's placement.

Bennett's case has been referred to a detective for followup, police said Tuesday.

The apartment manager told the officer her mother had left her alone and had done it several times in the past. A neighbor confirmed the manager's story and said on Saturday, the girl had been outside by herself for more than two hours.

The officer said she found the inside apartment door ajar but the outside metal door was closed and the little girl would not have been able to open it to get inside, according to the police report.